“packed with BBQ goodness”

A few years back, Bo and Arden Fowler were in North Carolina visiting Bo's parents. While exploring the great BBQ joints of the South, they noticed a strange phenomena: all the good BBQ joints were in an ugly old strip mall. While enjoying a full belly, Bo realized and declared to Arden, "We own an ugly old strip mall! We could have a BBQ shack." Arden, still licking his fingers, started making some calls to make it happen.
One and a half months later, Fat Willy's Rib Shack was born. The picture to the left is the first Fat Willy's Rib Shack, started in February of 2002. Fat Willy's originally had 8 booths with counter service only. After word got out, and the place was consistently packed, Bo & Arden realized they needed to offer some more seats. The expansion occurred in 2003 and the new seating area opened that December.